2

But thanks to her mother-fucking-mother, Leah, it was ruined. Just like she had ruined the Christmas ball by showing up drunk. The same way you ruined the school dance, coming up as an escort for one of the students.

"I hate her!" Evie grunted, while Felippa caresses her curly hair. "What did I do, to deserve a mother like her?"

"Nothing, Evie. It’s not your fault she’s a shitty mother.”

Sniffing, Evangeline turns away from her friend and faces her.

"What am I gonna do, Felps? It was my dream in that box. There’s not a chance in hell I’m gonna get that money in time.”

The girl with her hair dyed red and who needed to paint the root, gets up and starts walking from one side to the other.

"Well, there’s one thing, but you won’t like it.”

"What?”

"Do you remember JJ?”

Evie didn’t have to make any effort. She spoke of the slender, light"eyed black boy with whom Felippa had a torrid year of love. Nobody knew his name, just called him JJ. Not even Felippa, knew.

"What’s wrong with him?" Evangeline shrugs.

She didn’t think of a way that that boy could help her.

"A while ago, he joined the gang down the street.”

"Really?" Felippa settled. "We talked every day and you never told me that.”

"It wasn’t relevant, anyway. He knows someone, who lends money. Well, with interest, but lends.”

"A loan shark?”

"Yes, but no. I don’t know who the lender is. I just know it exists.”

Evangeline starts thinking about the pros and cons of that idea. The pros were perfect. She would play at the recital, someone would fall in love with her and take her on tour. The con was one. She would be killed if she didn’t pay that guy.

"No way." she says, trying to keep that tempting will to accept from her head. "I want to be alive, to be famous.”

"Ah, friend, I...”

The trailer door opens abruptly, causing the two friends to stop talking. Leah, the mother of Evangeline, enters the small environment changing her legs and with a paper bag in her hands.

"Daughter!" Leah smiles wide and tries to hug the girl, who disengages. "That this! What was it?”

Evangeline glanced at Felippa, who understood immediately. The girl smiles shyly at the older woman and gets up, going to the door.

"If you change your mind, let me know.”

Evie shakes her head, but she didn’t intend to borrow money from anyone. She had her own money. Her mother would have to give it back.

"What’s wrong with that girl?”

"What happened to you!" Evangeline supports her hand on the thin wall of the trailer and faces her mother, who was sitting in a chair. "Where’s my fucking money?”

"Your what is it?”

Leah squinted and stared at her daughter. She was drunk but still keen to tell some truths to her heiress.

"My money!”

"Girl, you eat and sleep here for free. You don’t have that kind of money. I needed it and took it.”

Evangeline felt all her blood run and explode in her head. She gave a loud scream, which Felippa could hear from her trailer.

"WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?" SHE KEEPS SCREAMING. "THE MONEY WAS MINE! MINE!”

"Oh, Evangeline! Forgets me." Leah gets up and opens the fridge, looking for something to eat. "Look at this. No food. And you saving money for nothing.”

"Nothing? Leah, that money was for the recital! Hell!”

"Fuck this recital business. Instead of looking for something better to get money, you spend time playing that crap.”

When she walked to go to the room, Leah kicked Evangeline’s case, making her even angrier.

"DO NOT KICK!" Evie bends down and grabs his instrument, hugging him, trying to protect him from further aggression. "It’s not because your life sucks that I have to accept mine to be.”

"Blah, blah, blah. No more talk. I have to shower and sleep. Tomorrow I work early.”

"Mother, please.” Evie’s eyes burned so much, that she could not stand it anymore and tears fell. "It’s my dream. I’ve been saving that money for so long.”

Leah is not moved by the tears of her daughter. For her, the only thing that mattered was her drinks and the various men she had sex with. His biggest dream was for his daughter to use the beauty she has to lure a very rich man out of all that misery.

But being totally contrary to what her mother wanted, Evie had completely different plans.

"I’ve spent the money." That’s all Leah says before she goes into the bathroom.

Knowing that her mother will be hiding in the bathroom until she sleeps, Evangeline crawls to bed and lies down, crying copiously while still embracing her musical instrument. Hungry and sad to have to give up something she loves so much, Evangeline sleeps, trying to dream of a life where her mother is not an outcast.

[...]

The next day, the girl spent the whole day lying down, lamenting the life she led. Felippa knocked a few times on the door, but as Evie made no noise, she thought her friend was out.

In the evening, when Leah arrived from her maid job, she carried leftover from lunch that had been served at her job. Seeing her daughter still lying in bed, in the same clothes as the day before, a drop of the mother she was, appeared.

"Tomorrow there will be a party at the mansion where I work." she says, approaching the bed where Evangeline was. "They need people to serve the guests and I thought of you. Do you accept?”